Hodges is Master, Bleckley Inn of Court

Atlanta–Rafuse Hill & Hodges LLP, partner Ken Hodges has been appointed as a Master for the Bleckley. Inn of Court. A chapter of the American Inns of Court, the Logan E. Bleckey. Inn of Court is an organization of Atlanta-area trial lawyers and judges dedicated to the promotion of ethics and professionalism in trial practice.

Hodges is a partner in Ashe, Rafuse & Hill’s general litigation division. He is familiar to many Georgians as the 2010 nominee of the Democratic Party of Georgia for Attorney General after carrying 158 out of 159 counties in the primary. Hodges previously spent 15 years of his 20-year career as a prosecutor, including 12 as the District Attorney of the Dougherty Judicial Circuit.

“Since joining the Firm, I have been able to focus on returning to the courtroom and helping people and businesses solve problems quickly and effectively,” Hodges says. “The honor of being asked to join the Bleckley Inn of Court is important to me because it is another forum in which to actively discuss matters of ethics, skills and professionalism, which are of course very important to me and the people I serve.”

In the 1970s U.S. Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger led a movement to create Inns of Court across the United States. The “Inns” are groups of judges, practicing attorneys, law professors and students who meet regularly to discuss and debate issues relating to legal ethics and professionalism. The Bleckley Inn is one of five Inns of Court in Georgia and was established in 1990.

Membership in each Inn is limited and by invitation only. The Bleckley Inn consists of three groups: Masters - accomplished judges and trial lawyers; Barristers - promising trial lawyers with 4-6 years of experience; and Pupils - outstanding third year students from Georgia State University, College of Law. The Bleckley Inn presents six programs for its members each year on current litigation topics and runs a mentoring program for its Barristers and Pupils.

Atlanta-based Ashe, Rafuse & Hill, LLP (www.AsheRafuse.com) focuses on employment, civil rights, and commercial litigation nationally.

More Information: – Kenneth B. (Ken) Hodges, III, spent 15 years of his 20-year career as a prosecutor, including 12 as the District Attorney of the Dougherty Judicial Circuit. He has appeared before juries hundreds of times in both civil and criminal matters, supervised literally thousands of cases and argued before the Georgia Court of Appeals and Supreme Court of Georgia. Ken was the nominee in 2010 of the Democratic Party of Georgia for Attorney General after carrying 158 out of 159 counties in the primary. He garnered more votes than any other Democratic candidate in the General Election. Ken now applies his distinguished trial skills in a practice focused on commercial litigation, civil rights, government investigations and RICO matters. He was District Attorney of the Year in 2002 in part due to his work as co-counsel in the case of State v. Sidney Dorsey. Ken received the Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service for his dedication to public service from The State Bar of Georgia and the Eagle Award for outstanding work on behalf of victims of crime by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council of Georgia. He is a former Chairman of the Prosecuting Attorney's Council of Georgia, a past President of the District Attorney's Association of Georgia, and past President of the Dougherty Bar Association. He is a graduate of Leadership Georgia and served on its Board of Directors. Ken has been recognized by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of Georgia's "40 Under 40" and by the Fulton County Daily Report as an attorney "On The Rise." Ken received his B.A. from Emory University and his J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law. Ken and his wife Melissa, and their two young children, reside in Buckhead. Notably, both children were born during Ken’s campaign for Attorney General; one was born during the primary and the other during the general election.